The Lucrecia Virus
by SenSen the Jaylor
Summary: There is no point in your protecting that girl. She'll end up in my hands before long, and when she does, her powers are mine!" This world just keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I stared at the clock. It was the last class of the day and everyone was on the edge of their seats. Who wouldn't be on the day before the last day of high school-- well, besides myself? I didn't care much about the end of the school day. In fact, if I'd had a choice, I'dve stayed at the school. The educational building was much better for me than my house. I at least had friends at school. At home, Mom was almost always gone, and I was never allowed to have my friends over. Not that I'd want to allow any of my friends to meet the Devil herself, but I couldn't even go anywhere but the house after school.

I cringed as the bell rang. Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to the door. As usual, I was the last one left in the classroom. Yet another thing I was more than used to. I picked up my notebook and stuffed it in my backpack. I sighed as I slung my bag over my shoulder. I was halfway out the door when I decided that I wanted to stay for a little longer. My decision made, I came back into the room and approached Mrs. Burton's desk.

I took my time before I spoke. I had to make sure she was in a good mood before I asked her the question on my lips. She hadn't spoken all period, but I could read her face like an open book—with pictures. She seemed happy enough.

I cleared my throat, lifting Mrs. Burton's gaze from her book to my face.

"Yes, Rosalie?" she asked, her expression thoughtful.

"Ms. Burton, is there anything I can help you with?" I asked.

The trigonometry teacher smiled at me. "I've just printed out the report cards. Will you fetch them for me?"

I nodded. I'd helped her last semester with the same thing. I liked helping Mrs. Burton. She was always willing to prolong my happiness for ten minutes. I held back the urge to bow as I was given the keys to the copying room. I left the classroom, taking as much time as I could, meandering through the hall. I swung the keys this way and that, satisfied by the noise I was making.

When I reached the copying room, I unlocked the door and walked through it with confidence. I strode toward the printer where the report cards had started sliding onto the tray. I waited for them to finish, but there was a knock on the door before they were done.

I opened the door, expecting to see a teacher asking why I was still there, but I saw my two best friends: Trisha Burningham and Carol McLellen. I hugged them both and led them to the back of the room where the report cards were just finishing up.

"We thought you'd be here," Trisha said. "You usually help your fourth period teacher, and Mrs. Burton almost always sends you here."

Carol sent me a warm smile. "We thought we'd come say hello before we left."

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it," I said, picking up the papers and walking back out into the hallway with my friends close behind. That's what they were like. They were always beside me when they had the chance to be. If they had the time, they would even walk me to my house, but today wasn't one of those days. Carol had piano practice and Trisha had to go to work at the public library.

They walked with me most of the way to Mrs. Burton's classroom, but we soon had to say our goodbyes where Middle and B hall met. From there we hugged and walked away from each other-- me toward the classroom and them out of the school-- but we yelled across the school to one another until one of us passed out of earshot.

I set the papers on Mrs. Burton's desk, gave her the keys to the copying room, and started my walk to my house. It's a pretty long walk and a very boring one when not accompanied by my two best friends. As always, I felt dread as I spotted my one-floor house. Some of the people reading this may have noticed that I haven't said the word "home" once when talking about the place where I live. That's because the place I am forced to live is not where my heart is. Anyway, moving on.

I unlocked the old beaten white door and stepped inside. The door groaned as I closed it behind me and made my way to my bedroom. On my bed was a list of the chores I had to do before Mom got back from work. I was surprised I could still use the bathroom when my chores weren't done. I could only be grateful that Mom didn't get home until late at night. The chore list consisted of cleaning every room in the house that she trashed, doing the laundry, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, and other odd jobs around the house. As usual, I did these chores without question.

While I took the garbage can to the edge of the sidewalk, I thought about my motivation for living with Mom for eighteen years of life that could have been spent doing something besides being her maid. I couldn't think of anything. I remembered the hours I spent in my room, wishing I had been old enough to leave my mother in the dust…wishing that Dad was still alive. If he hadn't died when I was five years old, maybe Mom wouldn't have treated me like dirt.

When Dad had been around, our family was happy. He was a video game designer, but he mostly helped translate things into English. We could afford things with the salary he had, and there was always money to spare. But without warning, his body just shut down. And after he died, Mom started to hate me. After recalling all this, I rubbed my eyes and wandered back inside.

My chores took most of the rest of my day. I wished there were some possible way for me to get all of them done before Mom got home, but I knew that was as impossible as Dad coming back from the dead. I sighed (I did a lot of sighing, then) when I heard Mom's car pull into the driveway.

"Rosalie! I'm going to need you to wash my car for me." Mom entered through the garage door, threw her things onto the counter top, and walked around with her dirty shoes on the linoleum that I had just mopped. I held back my rage and started the dishwasher.

Mom left the room to take a shower. She wouldn't be back for a few hours.

I took a pan from a cupboard and boiled water in it for my dinner. I was in the mood for ramen, so that's what I chose to have. Even after I had finished eating the very last noodle, the shower was still going. I sighed again and decided to wash the car then instead of later. I grabbed a plastic bucket, filled it with soap and water, and grabbed a blue sponge from under the sink on my way out into the garage.

The car was worse than usual. It looked like Mom had driven through a river of mud, and I couldn't figure out how she could see through the windshield, which of course was caked with dry clay. I approached the mud monster, wielding my soaked sponge. I avoided the brown water that splashed all around my feet as I scrubbed the car. I couldn't even tell it was a Volvo anymore.

It took me over an hour to clean that automobile, with regular trips to the kitchen for fresh water. Disgusting!

I trudged into the kitchen and washed my hands under hot water. It felt so good. I looked at the clock as I turned off the water. One AM. I couldn't handle much more of this torture. Mom came from the bathroom just as I put the bucket and sponge away.

"Why aren't you working?" Mom's hair was still wet.

"I just finished--"

"Don't talk back to me, girl!" Here came one of her lectures. "I work every day from morning to night just to come home and see the messes you haven't cleaned up." She pointed at the floor where her muddy footprints still resided, acting as if it were my fault that she walked on a wet floor with dirty shoes. "Why haven't you cleaned that up yet? You're a slacker, that's why. If you had a job, my life wouldn't be so hard. You don't even care about the strains I take just to bring home food for you to eat in the five minutes it's been in the cupboard. Do you think I do all this for fun?"

_What? Make my life a living Hell? It sure seems like it,_ I thought. My hands were in fists to keep them from shaking. My temper had been lost hours before her lecture, and it was all I could do to hold in the boiling anger inside of me. If I yelled back at her, she would take away the one happiness I had in that house. I had given up almost everything else to that witch, but I wasn't willing to give her my Playstation 2.

As Mom rambled, I remembered how I had received the only electronic device I had ever owned. After Dad had left us, Mom had started to beat me until I was black and blue. No one seemed to notice my scars and bruises; even the teachers were oblivious to my pain. Well, all except for one. At parent teacher conferences with that certain teacher, the injuries were mentioned, and it wasn't by the parent. It seemed that I'd had my back turned every time the teacher, Miss Fritzwater, looked at my scrapes. Mom had told her I'd fallen out of a tree. I had opened my mouth to tell my teacher the truth, but Mom gave me a look behind Miss Fritzwater's back that said "If you tell her the truth, you won't live to see another day."

For years, she gave me that look. She took me to the store with her once, and I saw a PS2. I told Mom that she wouldn't get any more trouble from me if she got me that game system. I was amazed when she took what I wanted to the cashier without a word. After that, I didn't dare ask her for more. I started saving up my money for Dirge of Cerberus, another game I wanted. Little by little, the bruises started getting fewer. Eventually, they stopped all together. That had only been a few months before her most recent lecture.

Although there wasn't any beating, I couldn't do anything to stop the yelling. After about twenty minutes of verbal assault, Mom went in a huff to her bedroom. I wasn't even shaken by her countless threats and didn't even blink when she slammed her door, rattling the windows.

As I always did after a lecture, I sat on my couch, picked up a controller, and turned on the Playstation at my feet. Turning down the volume so that it couldn't be heard from the next room, I started playing Final Fantasy VII, a game I had received unexpectedly after Dad died. One of his coworkers found the game on his desk after the incident and decided that I should have it. Dad would have wanted it that way. Even though it had been a gift from my dad, I didn't have the heart to play it. It would remind me of him too much. Soon after that, though, I realized that he would have wanted me to remember him; to use his gift instead of hide it away, so I started a game.

I had just reached the part where Cloud had to dress up like a woman to save Tifa, not too far into the first disc. As the night dragged on, I fought with any monster that came my way, used items when needed, and, before five AM, I had reached the City of the Ancients. I had to do some side stories that weren't very interesting before I could go into the city and save Aeris, but I found out that you don't save her. Instead, Sephiroth dropped down from the ceiling, his massamune sinking into Aeris' back as he reached the ground.

"What?" I whispered, finding myself on my feet and inches away from the screen. "How could he? I needed her. What a pansy." My voice was sharp as I struggled not to scream.

I returned to my seat on the couch, grinding my teeth together and muttering threats under my breath to the poorly animated villain. I closed my eyes and folded my arms as I fumed. This game was dumb. Why on Earth—

I opened my eyes. Something didn't sound right with the game. When my gaze rested on the tv, I knew that something didn't look right, either. Both the music and the video were skipping. What great timing. Now, I'd have to reset the game and start from where I last saved, which was a long time before the point of the game I was at.

There was no chance of me getting to that same point before sunrise, but I wanted to try again anyway. I half expected things to turn out differently, I guess.

I reached out to press the 'reset' button. As my finger met plastic, the PS2 shocked me.

"Ow!" And then I felt woozy. What was happening?

I heard distant thunder, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I moaned. My whole body was aching and my head was pounding. I tilted it back too quickly, whacking it against a wall I was leaning on. I took an intake of breath through clenched teeth and did my best not to scream. Once I had recovered, I tried to recollect what had happened before I'd fallen asleep. I decided that Mom must have turned off all the lights without waking me up and telling me to go to bed. That was one of the things she did on a regular basis.

I opened my eyes and put one hand on the floor. I started. The floor was cold and hard. This wasn't my living room. Where was I?

Just then, thunder rumbled close by, making me jump. I felt suddenly terrified without even knowing why. Perhaps it was because I didn't know where I was. Thinking I would find some sort of light if I moved around, I stood and walked forward with my arms stretched in front of me in case I hit anything. It was unfortunate for me to find out after a couple of steps that there was nothing for me to hit from the waist up. I tripped over a random step and just caught myself on a thick piece of wood near my thighs. The plank seemed to be part of a kind of box, so I felt around the edges and skirted it.

I stopped walking for a while and looked around for any sign of a window or anything that would let in light. I saw a thin strip of light coming from underneath a door. Smiling, I went toward that door in hopes that I'd be able to get out that way. Not that the door would have been unlocked, but I never got there in the first place.

I forgot to be careful about where I was stepping, tripped over my own feet, and the only thing that stopped me from face-planting into the floor was another plank of wood that hit me right in the stomach. I put one of my arms over the plank to reach for the ground for support, but I hit something cold and hard. It glowed white in the feeble light from under the door, but I couldn't see it clearly, so I picked it up.

It's a good thing I was winded, because I would have screamed bloody murder once I realized I was holding a bone in my hand. I dropped it and fell backward, throwing out both hands to catch myself before I hit the floor. After I made impact, I scooted into a corner and curled up into a ball. I now knew what those boxes were, but I didn't want to think about it. I was terrified as I whispered one word.

"Daddy."

At that point, I passed out.

When I came to, I heard murmuring voices and periodic thunder. They seemed so far away, but I felt too weak to reach out for them. I couldn't even open my eyes, it seemed. Maybe Dad was out there, telling me to come with him. I tried to say something, but my mouth wouldn't move.

Someone touched me on the shoulder, and my eyes flew open. There was a woman standing in front of me that had no sense of modesty. A white belly shirt and a mini skirt were the only things covering her body besides her boots and gloves. Her hair was long, dark brown, and tied into some sort of a ponytail near her waist. She asked me if I was all right, and something clicked in my head. I knew this girl.

"Tifa Lockheart?" I managed to say before I could stop myself.

The girl stared at me for a moment before she spoke. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

Without answering her question, I looked past her toward the three other people in the room. There was another man and a woman standing beside Tifa in front of me, and a man dressed in red was sitting in a coffin in the middle of the room. Pointing at each in turn, I said their names.

"Hold on. If you're Aeris Gainsborough, and you're Cloud Strife, and you're Vincent Valentine…I must be dreaming." I shook my head in disbelief.

Tifa looked at her companions. Everyone but Vincent had shocked looks on their faces, including myself.

"I'm still asleep, aren't I? I have to be. You guys aren't real. Tell me I'm still asleep," I said.

Tifa shook her head. "You're not asleep. We're as real as you are. Who are you, anyway?"

"I AM asleep, and I can prove it." I pinched myself as hard as I could. "Ow! Why didn't that work?" I closed my eyes, rubbed them, and opened them again. Each of the video game characters was as solid as before. Why wasn't I waking up?

Aeris stepped forward, muttering something. When she was finished, I felt my mind start to settle. Tifa tried questioning me again.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Webber," I replied, letting Tifa help me to my feet. I felt so calm, I almost didn't notice the thunder coming from outside.

Vincent spoke up. "How did you get here?" he asked. "No one has been in here since I fell asleep."

"I don't know how I got here…." I was speaking to myself for the most part. I had no idea it was even possible to get sucked into a video game. But now that my mind had been cleared by Aeris' spell, it all made some sort of sense.

Cloud inspected the opened door behind him. "It was locked. We had to find a key to get in. Maybe someone threw her in here…?" He looked at me for an answer.

I shrugged and shook my head. "I have no idea what happened."

Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris put their heads together. I felt a little uncomfortable. I looked at Vincent and tried to smile at him, but I only got a blank stare in return. I cleared my throat and stared at my shoes after that.

When the team raised their heads, Cloud turned to Vincent and I.

"Do either of you have weapons?" he asked.

Vincent patted a gun at his hip with his right hand. I noticed, then, that he had his left arm hidden beneath his red cloak. I couldn't quite remember the reason he did that, but I knew he had one.

I shook my head in response to Cloud's question. I didn't even know HOW to fight. And, besides that, my mind had started spinning again. If I'd known how to fight, I wouldn't have been able to. Aeris' spell had worn off.

Cloud looked back at Aeris and Tifa. I could only stand there, shuffling my feet and struggling to keep my face blank. Cloud turned to us again. "Tifa will take you to the nearest inn, Rosalie. That leaves us one member short. Vincent, will you join us?"

Vincent thought for a moment, then stood, jumped out of his coffin and said, "Of course."

"Then we'll see Tifa and Rosalie to the door."

The five of us walked out of the room with Tifa and I in the back. Cloud brushed past me and started up the stairs, being the born leader. In spite of myself, I started pinching my arm again. Tifa gave me a harsh look.

"Stop that," she said.

"Sorry," I said, staring at the ground.

When we got up the stairs, there was someone waiting for us.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud drew his massive sword.

As everyone prepared for battle, I could only stare at the villain. In fact, when everyone rushed toward him, I took a step backward. Being the klutz that I was, I tripped over myself and landed on the ground. I felt like an idiot, but I was a safe idiot at the moment.

I could only watch the battle from my position on the floor, hoping that no one besides Sephiroth was going to die. Tifa helped me up, but I leaned against the nearest wall, making sure I wasn't going to fall down again. As I turned my thoughts back to the battle, I saw Sephiroth smirk and slide his massamune into Cloud's stomach. That wasn't supposed to be in the game. What was going on here? I stared at Cloud as the sword was removed and he fell to the floor.

"Cloud!" Tifa said, her voice a bloodcurdling scream.

Something inside of me snapped. All I remember is wanting Cloud to live, and I felt tired without explanation. A teal light surrounded Cloud, closing his wound. Soon after, he was back in the battle. I sighed with relief, but my exhaustion claimed my attention as my legs almost collapsed. I placed my hand on the wall to brace myself. I stared at my feet to make sure they were going to hold me, and I saw a pair of black boots in front of me. I looked up and met the eyes of Sephiroth. Before I could react, he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. I screamed, but I couldn't do any more than that. I didn't know where my energy had gone, but I had no power to fight against his grip without it.

When almost all my strength had left me and I was about to fall unconscious, I heard gunshots. After that, I was out.

I opened my eyes. "Aeris?" She was kneeling beside me.

"Are you all right…Rosalie, isn't it?" Aeris said, hoping she got my name right.

I nodded to both questions. "I'm fine." I looked around, not really seeing anything I set my eyes on. "What happened?"

"Sephiroth tried to take you before you passed out. You'd probably be waking up to see his face instead of mine if Vincent hadn't acted so fast." Aeris grabbed my hand and helped me sit up.

"Vincent saved me?" I blinked and looked around again. This time, I was searching for Vincent.

"He's outside. You should go thank him," Aeris said.

I nodded and stood. I walked out the front doors and saw Vincent, staring at the world around him. He didn't seem to hear the door shutting behind me over the noise of the falling rain.

"Vincent," I said.

Vincent looked at me over his shoulder.

"Thank you—for saving me, I mean." I looked at the ground. What a burden I'd turned out to be. I peeked up at my savior through my eyelashes. He nodded and turned back toward the scenery.

"We should leave soon," he said after a few moments of silence.

I looked up at him. "What?"

"I spoke with Cloud. He and I agreed that if Sephiroth comes for you while you're out in the open, Tifa won't be able to save you," he said, as if that decided the matter…which, of course, it did.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and crouched down. "What does he want with me?"

Vincent shook his head. "Cloud says he doesn't know, but we need to leave. Do you feel well enough to walk?"

I nodded. I knew it was time to go.

Vincent led me into an inn near the center of Nibleheim. The sun was just pulling back its last sliver of light when we entered the building, and we were both soaked to the bone from the rain. Vincent rented one room with two beds.

It was only when I saw the beds that I realized how tired I was. I lay down and was asleep before I could get under the covers.

I raised my head. It was second period. So it _had_ been a dream. I knew it! Now, I could get on with my life. My psychology teacher, Mr. Hendersen, asked a question, so I raised my hand and gave the right answer.

When that period ended, Trisha and Carol met me before lunch like they always did. We talked and laughed all the way to the cafeteria. When we sat down to eat our lunches, everything seemed right. I never once looked back to the video game world of Final Fantasy VII.

But then, out of nowhere…

"Who's that, Rosalie?" Carol asked.

I looked over my shoulder and gasped when I saw who it was.

"That's—impossible!" I couldn't breath anymore, nor could I look away from the man that had just entered the lunchroom. "How did Sephiroth get here?"

At that moment, Sephiroth's eyes found me.

I stood, yelling for everyone around me to run, but no one was moving. At that point, I did the only thing I could do. I ran, but before I knew it, Sephiroth was in front of me, beckoning to me. I shook my head at him. There was no way I was going to go with him.

"Then die!" Sephiroth said as he brought his sword down on me…

I screamed and sat up in my bed. I buried my face in my hands and did my best to calm down. When I succeeded, I realized that I wasn't alone. I looked up and saw Vincent staring at me from the window with an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry. I just had a nightmare. I'll be okay. Goodnight." I lay back down and closed my eyes, but I didn't feel like sleeping anymore.

* * *

Yenny: R&R Please!

Lacher: Only if you want to!

Yenny: Or if you have any comments or your just bored and you want to say something random.

Lacher: We support being random.

Yenny: Yes, being random makes everyday better! . 

Lacher: Chapter three will be posted fairly soon!

Yenny: We hope!

Lacher/Yenny: BYE!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I trudged behind Vincent as we left town. It was obvious that he liked to leave in a hurry. We were going to hike to the top of Mt. Nibel in one day and hike down the other side the next. Right before we left, Vincent and I went to buy food, ammo, a gun for me (even though I didn't know how to use one), and a change of clothes for me.

The clothes we bought consisted of a light brown short-sleeved shirt, short shorts of the same color with a belt that had a holster for my gun and a small sheath for the knife we had bought soon after the belt. I had brown boots and gloves that Vincent said I'd need. I had put my hair in one braid down to the small of my back and looked at myself in a mirror.

"I feel like the Tomb Raider," was what I'd said when I first saw myself. "If these clothes hadn't been the only ones that fit me, I would never have bought them."

"Tomb Raider?" Vincent had asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Nevermind."

After that conversation, I bought a brown backpack to keep all our supplies in.

"Vincent?" I spoke, breaking the silence as we started up the mountain pass.

"Yes?" He responded without turning to look at me.

I stared at the back of his head, feeling sheepish. "Where are we going?" I asked.

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "I've told you already. We're going up Mount Nibel."

"I know that. But I mean, what city?" I asked.

"Rocket Town, but we won't be staying there for long," Vincent said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because Sephiroth might still be after you."

I shuddered. We walked in silence for a while after that.

As we walked, I realized that I wasn't being my usually klutzy self. I had been walking around for so long without even stumbling. But just when I thought I was doing so well, I tripped. I put my hands out just in time to catch myself on the rocks. As I stood, I looked at my hands, suddenly grateful for the gloves I was wearing.

"Careful," Vincent said. He had seen me fall.

I scowled at myself, whishing I could properly control my limbs for once in my life. I sighed, knowing that would never happen.

I tried being careful on the hike, but ended up falling behind Vincent. I readjusted the strap on my bag and looked at the path, determined. I dashed after Vincent, praying in my head that I wouldn't fall down. When I didn't, I smiled.

Then, without warning, my foot caught on a rock. I gasped in shock as I fell down. Vincent half turned to look at me. I sat up, but my left ankle exploded with pain when I tried to stand.

"Are you all right?" Vincent asked, walking toward me and kneeling in front of me.

I looked away, trying to hide my red face, and gestured toward my left foot. "My ankle…" I said, ashamed of myself.

"Let me see." He moved closer to my foot.

He looked at it and touched it a few times with his right hand. I flinched when his cold fingers pressed a tender area. Vincent continued to inspect my ankle before he sighed again.

"It's sprained," he said.

My face flushed, making it even more red than it was before. "I'm sorry."

We sat in silence before Vincent stood. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"I-I think so, if I can stand."

Vincent reached his right hand out for mine and helped me get up when I took it.

"Thank you," I said, then started to limp up the mountain.

When we reached the top, the sun was receding, and stars starting showing up in the night sky. While Vincent gathered wood, I curled up, hugging myself to keep warm.

Vincent dropped the pile he had collected and lit it, making a good-sized fire. I stretched my hands out, palms forward, to absorb the warmth. I shivered and grabbed a blanket from my bag to wrap around myself. I rubbed my arms with my hands to create friction. I soon warmed up.

I tried to go to sleep after that, but I couldn't. I didn't know what kept me up. My guess was fear and anxiety. I stood and walked around the campsite, limping from the pain in my ankle. I stopped near the edge of a cliff, staring down at the world below. I had the sudden urge to cry, but I held back the tears.

How had I gotten here? No answer I came up with really made sense. I didn't know what to do and I didn't know how to get back…or if I _wanted _to get back. Throughout my whole life, Mom had treated me like dirt. Why should I have to go back to that life? Then I thought about Sephiroth. Which life did I want to be a part of?

My thoughts were interrupted by Vincent's voice. "You're still up?"

I looked at the ground, embarrassed that he had caught me acting like a dork. "Yes," I said.

"You need your rest. I'm not planning on carrying you down the mountain."

An animal howled in the distance, drawing my attention back to the landscape far below. I could feel Vincent's eyes boring into the back of my head, scolding me. Not wanting to anger him, I limped back to the fire and lay down again, but my eyes refused to close longer than to blink, no matter what I tried.

"You're still awake, aren't you?"

I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes as I answered. "Yeah."

Vincent sat up and rummaged through his pack, then stood and walked over to me holding a teal orb the size of the average bouncy ball. He knelt down next to me as he had while diagnosing my foot.

"Sit up," he ordered.

I did as I was told. "What is that?"

"It's a sleeping materia. It'll help."

I shook my head, not really wanting Vincent to cast any spells on me. For some reason, the idea scared me. "No, thanks, I'll stay up."

"No, you won't." Impatient and tired, Vincent took the materia in his left hand and gently touched the orb to the skin on his right arm. The materia was absorbed into his arm, and before I realized what he was doing, he cast a sleep spell that hit me with full force. I fell backward, already asleep, but Vincent caught me before I hit the ground and lowered me down to my makeshift bed.

"Wake up. We have to go," Vincent said.

I sat up and stretched. "Already?"

"Yes."

I rubbed my eyes. Morning always came too soon. I grabbed my backpack and stood, picking my blanket up off the ground. I stuffed the blanket into the bag and followed Vincent past the already-doused fire. Besides having to limp and the occasional stumble, I was fine on the way down. I guess the sleep _had_ done me some good. With a relentless pace and no rest, we reached the bottom by noon. From there, the ground leveled out and led us on a path through a forest.

My legs had started hurting halfway down the mountain, but now they were practically screaming in pain. Just as I thought I would collapse, Vincent turned off the path. I followed him, and we came to a clearing where we could stop to rest. I sat down and leaned against the nearest tree, wiping my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand.

I looked at Vincent once I got comfortable, watching him take out his gun and aim it at the gigantic trunk of a dead tree. I didn't have time to cover my ears before he fired, and the noise felt like an explosion in my brain. I winced at the ringing the shot created in my ears, but the noise was okay after that. I soon learned to enjoy the sound of gunshots. I watched as a gaping hole in the tree started to form.

When Vincent stopped to reload, he looked back at me. He motioned for me to come to him, so I got up and came to stand by his side. "What is it?" I asked.

"I'm going to teach you how to shoot," Vincent said. "You never know when a monster will creep up on you, and you'll be forced to attack."

I nodded and reached for my pistol, but he shook his head and told me to put it away.

"Why?" I asked.

"It isn't loaded," Vincent said.

"Then why'd you give it to me?"

"Intimidation. Put it away. You're going to learn to shoot with this." He held out his gun for me to take.

I put my pistol away and took Vincent's gun, in awe at the fact that he could hold it with one hand for how heavy it was. Vincent told me to plant my feet shoulder-width apart from each other and to aim carefully. I held the weapon up with both hands as he moved out of the way and fired. The force threw me back at least five feet, and I slammed into the tree I had been leaning against, the gun still in my hand.

Vincent laughed, surprising me more than any other reaction could have done. The laugh sounded dry because he probably hadn't used in a long time, but that didn't keep the sound from being infectious, and I nearly chuckled myself. It had been so long since I'd heard someone laugh, and now everything seemed like it could turn out all right. Well, that's what it would have seemed like if my head hadn't been surrounded by stars at the time. He came to help me up, and there was a smile on his face. It was the first smile I'd seen him wear, terrible graphics or otherwise. He walked with me back to the center of the clearing where we'd been before.

Vincent's smile vanished as he gave me new directions. "I'm going to help you this time." At this, Vincent came and stood behind me. "Brace yourself against me."

I held the gun up like before, planted my feet again, and braced myself against Vincent's chest. I blushed at the uncomfortable contact, but I lowered my head so he couldn't see it. I looked up when I felt his right hand cover mine. He tightened his grip on my hand so I could have a better grip on the gun.

"Is something wrong?" Vincent must have seen my blush. He let me go, and I turned to face him.

I shook my head in answer to his question. "No." I wasn't sure about whether or not that was the truth. All I knew was that it was embarrassing, being that close to him when I had just met him a few days before. It didn't help that he was a videogame character I never thought could exist.

"Then let's try this again." We took our positions, but I did my best to ignore the shy feeling making my heart beat faster and tucked myself farther into Vincent's chest. If the gun was fired while I wasn't secure, I wouldn't be the only one that got hurt. Vincent once again placed his hand over mine. I focused on holding the gun myself, and I was glad when I didn't blush. "You won't be using your other hand. It can be there to catch you if you fall."

I hesitated before letting my left hand drop, half expecting the gun to fall out of our hands, but Vincent held it in place. I shut my eyes and turned my face away as I felt Vincent's finger pressing mine against the trigger.

BANG!

I breathed in through clenched teeth as I heard the shot and opened my eyes. It was over. I looked up at Vincent's face, now blank as it had been before he'd laughed. I was surprised when I found I was undamaged, save for a mild pain in my shoulder. I smiled, proud of myself. I looked at the tree Vincent had made into a target and admired the damage I'd done.

Vincent's hand released mine, and I gave him the gun. "Thank you, Vincent."

That night I was happy to lie down on a real bed at an inn near the edge of Rocket Town. As comfortable as the bed was, though, I couldn't sleep. I looked around and spotted Vincent sitting on the windowsill. My guess for that was he always did that when he stayed at an inn. Part of me didn't think he slept at all. Or maybe he was just making sure I wasn't taken in my sleep. Was I depriving him of his rest?

"Vincent?" I said, feeling guilty without even knowing if the whole "not sleeping" thing was my fault.

In response, Vincent looked at me.

"Don't you ever sleep?"

Vincent looked back out the window without answering my question. Afraid that I'd offended him, I tried to change the subject.

"Uh, you, um, haven't told me anything about how you got into that coffin…." I trailed off, noticing the dark expression that came over his face as the mentioning of his past. Okay, that only made things worse. Note to self, do NOT ask about his past. "Uh, never mind. Forget I said anything. I didn't really think talking about your past would upset you, although I should have known, considering you ended up in a coffin. I guess I just asked because you must have such an interesting history. Let's just pretend I never said anything about-"

At that moment, I heard the sound of crashing glass coming from the lobby, interrupting my nervous monologue. I jumped and looked at Vincent with fear in my eyes.

Vincent stood and walked toward the door. "Stay here," he said before leaving the room.

I curled up into a ball, pressing my face to my knees. I was starting to wish I had my demon mother back. I was startled by the sound of more glass breaking, this time in the same room. When I looked up, I saw Sephiroth bursting through the window.

"Vincent!" I screamed and stood, running for the door. Sephiroth grabbed me before I got there. I screamed in rebellion as he pulled me away from the doorway. As an impulse, I turned and punched the villain in the face. The force of my hit didn't seem to do much damage, but he was in shock just long enough for me to wrench my arm away and start running down the hall. Being the clumsy person I was, though, I tripped over my feet and sprawled onto a rug in the middle of the hallway. The rug slid forward, and my head connected with the wall. My vision got blurry for a few seconds, but most of me was just glad that I hadn't been knocked out. I stood, too fast, and my head started to spin, so I leaned against the wall, hoping I would have enough time to recover. But, of course, I didn't. A second later, Sephiroth entered the hallway and ran toward me with his hand on his sheathed massamune.

I pushed against the wall and ran forward again. It just so happens that then, because of my horrendous luck, my wounded ankle started to hurt. It made me trip up and sent me sprawling onto the floor again. I was so close to the stairs, but I didn't have time to get up and run. Instead, I sat up and backed away from the villain until my shoulders met wooden stair rails.

Sephiroth was getting too close for comfort. I closed my eyes and willed myself out of this nightmare. I wanted to go home, or at least disappear for a long time from this world I had been sucked into. I heard him getting closer, and I pushed myself harder against the railing, wishing everything would just go away.

At that moment, the railing behind me broke and I was sent flying through the air toward the lobby floor, screaming as I went. Just when I thought I would disappear for good, I felt two strong arms catch me and set me on the ground. I opened my eyes and nearly smacked myself in the forehead, I was so embarrassed. There was the hero of this outfit, and I was being my usual useless self. There was no way to prove I could be on my own after this.

"Stay put," Vincent said, pushing me unceremoniously against the wall behind me and heading up the stairs where Sephiroth was still standing, probably to see whether or not I would die from the fall.

When he spotted Vincent, he dived over the railings where I had broken through and landed on his feet on the floor. Before he could make another move, though, Vincent Threw himself off the stairs at Sephiroth, both arms outstretched.

Everything seemed to go into slow-motion as I found myself staring at Vincent's left arm. It was made of pure golden metal; the fingers pointed enough to stab into someone's heart. The sight of it was almost beautiful. I felt as if I had never seen it before, at least not as a whole, like this. Once I was done staring, things sped up to a normal speed, and Vincent crashed into Sephiroth, forcing him to the ground.

They wrestled for a while, and Sephiroth threw Vincent in my direction. I backed against the wall and Vincent barely missed crushing my feet. I noticed he wasn't getting up, so I went and shook him. He was out cold.

As Sephiroth stood and started walking toward me, I tried to think of a way out of this mess. If he killed Vincent, I'd have no protection. If I died, which was almost guaranteed at this point, would I end up at home? Would I just cease to exist? I didn't want to find out.

Not knowing exactly what I was doing, I reached for the gun in Vincent's right hand and pulled it free. I didn't have time to stand and plant my feet, so I braced myself against the wall, aimed, and shot.

The bullet hit my target in the right shoulder; not exactly the heart, where I would have liked to hit, but I was getting better with the gun I was holding, and that was for sure. I expected Sephiroth to come at me, but, like the pansy I knew him as, he turned and ran. He wouldn't be back for a while.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was alone in our room. Vincent must have finally woken up and gone to do something. Apparently I had proved that I could be myself worthy to be by myself for five minutes after all.

I silvery glint caught my eye, and I looked over at it. There, on my bedside table, was my pistol. I could have sworn I had put it away. I picked it up, and it felt slightly heavier than I remembered. I opened the chamber and saw that it was loaded with bullets. I smiled. Yay.

In Vincent's absence, I took a shower, washing off every particle of dirt I could find. It was disgusting how brown the water was at first.

When I felt I was clean enough to pass an inspection, I got out of the shower and toweled myself dry. I longed for clean clothes, but all I had was the Tomb Raider outfit I had bought before the hike up Mt. Nibel. I made an oath as I got dressed that as soon as Vincent got back, we were going shopping before I took a step out of town.

Shaking the last few drops of water from my hair, I walked out of the bathroom. When I looked around the room, I spotted Vincent at the window (why would he be anywhere else?). He was looking at the street below through the windowpane. As the bathroom door shut behind me, he turned.

"Get your shoes and gloves. We're leaving." Vincent stood.

"But I-"

"I've arranged a truck to take us to the Costa del Sol."

My brow furrowed. "The coast? Why?"

"From there, we'll take a boat to Midgar."

"Why leave so soon? Sephiroth probably thinks we've moved on by now."

"There's no doubt in my mind that Sephiroth knows exactly where we are right now. My guess is that he'll follow us until he catches you, meaning we have to keep running, at a faster pace, if possible."

Oath unfulfilled, I went to get my shoes.

My eye twitched at the sight of the truck we were going to ride in. "We're getting a ride in _that_?" I asked, my voice cracking.

Vincent nodded, but said nothing. He walked over to the driver's window and started to mumble something to our chauffer. While he was doing that I was eyeing the automobile with distaste.

It was ugly, and that was the only way to say it. There was no softer blow for the red paint job that had faded to more of a dusty pink. It was obvious that no one really cared for the truck. I sighed. If it hadn't been for the fact that Sephiroth was trying to kidnap and/or kill me, I would have been pickier, but when life gives you lemons, no matter how old and ugly they are, you make lemon-aid.

I climbed into the back of the truck and sat down in a corner by the front of it. It wasn't long before Vincent came and hopped in the bed of the truck, sitting down across from me with his eyes to the scenery as the truck sputtered to life and left the small town behind. Crossing my arms, I sighed and stared at nothing in particular. It wasn't too long before I got so bored I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My eyes opened just as the truck's breaks squealed to an ear-splitting stop. I looked at Vincent and saw him swing himself over the side of the bed and land, now standing in the sand. I didn't stare at him for long, though, because the scenery caught my eye.

The Costa del Sol was the most beautiful place I had ever set eyes on up to this moment. The sun was still high in the blue sky. I smelled the ocean on the air, and I nearly gasped when I saw the real thing. Those Japanese guys really knew what they were doing when they made this place.

"Enjoy what you can in the next five seconds. Our boat leaves in fifteen minutes," Vincent said, grabbing his bag from the truck.

I pouted. "That's no fair, especially because you probably have something planned for the next thirteen and a half."

Vincent nodded. "We need more food and ammo."

I hopped out of the truck with my bag in my hand and looked up at him with a mock scolding face. "You wasted all your ammo on that tree, didn't you?"

Vincent turned and walked toward a busier part of the town, and my stomach randomly started to hurt. I nearly doubled over from the pain, but decided that now would not be a good time to be sick, so I stood up straight, did my best not to grimace, and followed Vincent, trying to distract myself from my gut with thoughts of what I would buy as a new outfit. It didn't help much, considering I'm not much of a shopper, but it was the best I could do.

Vincent and I entered what appeared to be the marketplace. There were people everywhere, and I could barely see the wares people were selling, and most of the things I did see were things I didn't recognize.

I tailed Vincent past shop after shop until he looked over his shoulder. When he saw me he stopped walking and turned around, giving me a look, though I couldn't tell you what that look was because his face is so darn blank all the time!

I folded my arms, scowling at him. "What?" I asked in an accusatory tone.

"You're supposed to be getting food," Vincent said.

"I wasn't informed of this," I said, slightly ornery from how sick I was feeling. Vincent raised an eyebrow at me, as if I was supposed to read his mind. "But I don't know where to go. I've never been here before. I-"

Vincent interrupted me by pointing over my head. I looked over my shoulder and saw a booth with a sign that had a loaf of bread on it. I looked back up at Vincent to argue that I didn't know what to get and I didn't have the Gil to get anything in the first place, but Vincent dropped a smallish bag of Gil into my palm and walked off. I had the urge to chuck the bag at the back of his head, but instead I sighed and walked to my assigned booth.

When I finished I paid the shopkeeper, hefted the bag over my shoulder, and turned to look for Vincent. He was nowhere in sight, and I suddenly had no time whatsoever to look for him. My stomach nearly sent me sprawling to the ground in agony at that moment. I looked around for something to sit on, and I found a bench near the end of the marketplace. I walked as quickly as I could to get there.

What could I have done to make my stomach hurt so much? I hadn't eaten anything all day and… hey, maybe that was it! I was just hungry! But I'd never been in this much pain because of hunger before. Then why…? My head started hurting then, too. I felt like I was dying. So much for getting a new outfit.

After a few minutes of just sitting there with my eyes closed, I heard footsteps approach. I opened my eyes and looked up at Vincent before squinting them shut. Had the sun gotten brighter since I sat down?

"Vincent. I don't feel so good," I said, wrapping an arm around my stomach.

Vincent sat down next to me, and I felt two of his fingers touch my forehead. They were cold as ice, made colder by the fact that I felt hot all over. "I have one more stop to make," he said, withdrawing his hand. "Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes." He then stood and left me to die.

Vincent was gone less than five minutes, which seemed like a lifetime to me, the sickie. When I heard his footsteps again, I opened my eyes slightly. I would have asked him where he'd gone, but I was too busy trying to convince my head to stop hurting so badly.

Vincent looked at me to make sure I was awake, then said, "Come on. The ship leaves in two minutes," before he started to walk away, and it looked to me as though he was going at a slower pace. It was probably my imagination, but I was able to keep up with him and stood right behind him when we boarded the ship. I became Vincent's shadow in a way, following him everywhere he went so I wouldn't get lost or stuck in the sun or end up having to puke without knowing where to go. We walked to the middle of the deck before Vincent stopped, told me to stay where I was, and left me. Again. What a jerk.

Not having any other place to go, I stumbled toward the railing of the ship and looked out over the water. As I hung onto the bar, my head stopped pounding so much and my stomach calmed down a bit. Not having all that pain to think about anymore, I got excited about this trip. It was my first time ever being on a ship, and my imagination of what this experience would be like went wild. What would this be like? Would I get seasick? Would I hate being seasick? Who really cared, anyway? This was going to be awesome. I had the sudden urge to spread my arms out and yell "I'm the king of the world!" to the sky--and that's when I heaved my guts out over the side of the ship. Embarrassed? Yes. Nearly unconscious afterward? Also yes.

Vincent came back a few minutes later and told me that he'd been able to rent two rooms for us, side-by-side and connected so he could get to me in record time if I couldn't take care of myself on a ship. After telling me which number my door would be marked with and giving me the key to it, he left, yet again, to do whatever-the-crap he felt like until the cruise was over.

Muttering about how inconsiderate Vincent was, I went below deck and started looking for my room. I was feeling sicker by the second. I walked like a drunkard down the halls until I finally found the room I was supposed to be in. I opened the door, crashed on the bed, and fell asleep within the next thirty seconds.

I heard a knock on my door about an hour later.

"Who is it?" I said, my words slurring a bit from how horribly I was feeling.

"Room service," a voice answered.

I told the person to come in, and an extremely attractive guy walked in with a cup full of tea. I remembered wondering why I couldn't have had room service when I was more sexy and less sick? He set the glass down on my bedside table, gave me a reason for the tea that didn't register in my head, told me to drink it to make me feel better, and left. What a sweet guy. I smiled as I picked up the cup and drank the tea down. I fell asleep again a little while later.

* * *

Yenny: That... took... forever to upload. o.o

Lacher: That's because you had a freaking job! . But I still luff you to death, especially because you're not working anymore. We have more hang out time!! WOOT!

Yenny: You better luff me, or else.

Lacher: Meep.

Yenny: Anyways, R&R then eat cheetos.

Lacher: Do you even have cheetos?

Yenny: That's not the point.

Lacher: ...(rolls eyes) riiiiiight...

...

Anywho, sorry we took so long, we shall be a little more fastlish in the future. Faves and reviews and such are much appreciated, and would be a great motivator for us... but we're not saying that we won't upload stuff if you don't...

Yenny: Cause then our story would be deleted. And we don't want that to happen. It's just that Faves and reviews make the world go round... in a... circle... type motion... Yesss... ANYWAY! Thanks for reading everybody. And for those of you who actually took the time to read this Author's note... Yes we are just a little bit crazy.

Lacher: ...A little?

Yenny: Shhh! Their on to us!

Lacher: (wide eyes) NUUUU!! (runs)

Yenny: THE END! (poof)

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hours later, I unwillingly awoke. You know that feeling that you get when you want to keep sleeping but you just can't because you've met your sleep limit? Yeah, that's how I felt. I forced myself to sit up and look around the room. It was dark. That was my first observation. After a few seconds it clicked into my brain that it must be night. My second observation was that my stomach and my head didn't hurt as much as they did before I fell asleep. What had happened before?

Well, I seemed to remember trying to go to sleep and this really cute guy came in. I think it was Johnny Depp… Yeah it was Johnny Depp. Anyway, Johnny Depp came into my room and brought me some kind of drink. I think it might have been like tea or coffee or something. No it wasn't coffee because then I wouldn't have fallen asleep. It must have been tea then. Maybe that's what made me feel better?

I put a hand to my forehead. I didn't feel so sweaty and hot anymore. That was a good sign. With a heavy sigh I stretched and swung my legs out of the bed and stood up. I needed some fresh air. I stumbled toward the door and pulled it open. After leaving my room, I eventually found my way through the blackness and ended up on deck so I could get some fresh air and finally enjoy the ride a little.

It was such a clear night and the sea was very calm so the stars and the moon reflected off the water. With a slight smile I leaned over the railing and stared at the water. In the corner of my eye I saw a man come and stand at the railing a little ways away from me. I was about to turn and look at him when out of nowhere my stomach gave a huge jerk making me almost lose my balance. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart and my body felt bruised all over. What was going on?

I took several deep breaths as my legs shook underneath me. I wrapped one arm around my stomach and put the hand attached to the other arm over my heart, cringing from all the pain I was feeling.

"Oh gosh." I groaned.

"Are you all right, Miss?" the guy next to me asked. He sounded a nervous, but who wouldn't if they were in his shoes at this moment?

I shook my head. The next thought that ran through my head was the fact that I was going to throw up, and there was no stopping it. I grabbed the railing and tossed the tea I had downed earlier. I thought I would never stop puking at the rate I was going. If there had been a world record for throwing up, I would have won hands down. When I was finally done, I tried to stand straight and take a deep breath. The only problem with that was the fact that my lungs decided to stop working at that moment. It was like I was choking on something, but there wasn't anything stuck in my throat, I just couldn't breathe. My vision started blurring as I tried to hang on to the rail and stop myself from falling over, but I felt my grip slipping, and then everything went black.

X_X x_x X_X

"_**Are you all right, Miss?"**_ I asked her. She looked like she was going to be sick.

She shook her head, and then she puked over the side of the ship. Poor girl. I figured she wouldn't want some random guy staring at her while she threw up and turned to leave. I had taken one step when I heard her start to choke.

I turned to her. "Are you choking?"

The girl swayed before her grip on the railing slipped and she fell toward the deck. I ran and caught her so she wouldn't end up with a concussion and listened for her breathing. I didn't hear anything and her chest wasn't moving, so I tried the Heimlich maneuver, but nothing came flying out, and she still wasn't breathing.

So there I was, standing with a mystery woman in my arms. She looked about eighteen, I had no idea who she was or where she had come from. The Heimlich wasn't working, she seemed dead, and I had no idea what to do—

I heard a loud click behind me. "Put her down."

Tensing like mad, I looked over my shoulder. The barrel of a gun was pointed between my eyes. I glanced down at the girl and back up at the gun. "Oh, is this yours? I was just wondering what I was going to do with her because I didn't know if she came with anyone, but I guess I can just leave her to you, then, can't I?"

"Put her down."

"If I put her down on the deck, you'll just have to pick her back up again. I might as well just hand her to you personally. She'll catch a cold if I set her down here. She's not breathing, so the faster we do all this the better, and I think that this whole mess will take less time to resolve if you don't have to pick her up again, not to mention the fact that if I did want to harm her, you wouldn't have your gun hand to shoot me with if you were using both arms. You should just lower the gun so you're arms are open to take her from me. I' won't try anything funny, I promise, and--I'm rambling, aren't I? Just don't shoot me."

The barrel was lowered and I focused on the guy in the red cape who was holding it. Must have been her boyfriend, I thought, shaking my head. Pretty dedicated boyfriend, if you asked me. He holstered his gun and took the girl from me, resting her head on his shoulder as he started to walk away.

I was just about to walk away myself when the girl started writhing and making odd noises. The man looked at her for a moment before looking back at me.

I put my hands up to show I was innocent. "I didn't do anything, I swear!" Then something clicked in my head, and I lowered my hands. "Wait a minute. May I please take a look at her? I promise I won't hurt her."

The man looked at the girl, whose movements seemed to be slowing, like she was dying. In fact, that was almost exactly what she was doing. He looked up at me, unsure, and then nodded.

I walked over to where he stood and checked the girl's vital signs. She still had a pulse, steady as a pulse could be, but she still wasn't breathing. She soon stopped moving, her eyes open and glassy.

"Is she dead?" the man asked.

"Myeeh, sort of. But she's not lost to us."

He looked up at me, his brow furrowed. "What can I do for her?"

"A phoenix down should do the trick. I'm guessing you know how to use one, so from here I leave it to you."

"Is that all? You do realize that phoenix downs don't work on the dead, don't you?" I could see fire in the man's eyes.

I swallowed and wrung my hands nervously. "Yes, I know. She's just unconscious. I-it's hard to explain. Just trust me."

The man stared at me for a few seconds, then turned to leave.

"Oh! One more thing: Don't show her to anyone else. They wouldn't be able to help her anyway."

He looked over his shoulder at me before walking below deck.

I could only stand there, staring after him and the girl he carried. I was bewildered. I didn't know anyone else had done what I'd done. I would have to talk to that girl when she woke up. If she woke up. I hoped the woman in my dream had been telling me the truth.

***

I felt groggy that next morning. I had been up thinking practically all night about that girl from the night before. In fact, I would have been thinking about her situation for the whole day if my stomach hadn't growled at me. Hunger defeats almost all thought.

Not able to ignore my appetite for another second, I got out of bed and put on my robe before I left the room and started heading toward the dining room. While I walked down the hall, I got lost in my thoughts again, but a different woman was in my head.

"_This was a mistake. You weren't supposed to come here."_

"_Where am I? Can't you just send me back?"_

"_I'm sorry, but you can't go back."_

"_Why not?"_

"_You're body on Earth is gone, Shawn. If you were to try, your soul would disintegrate, and you will cease to exist"_

"…_You said this was a mistake, right? Why am I here, then?"_

"_I don't know. This experiment has more flaws than I expected."_

"_Was someone else supposed to come instead?"_

"…"

When I focused on the real world again, I realized that I was not heading in the direction I'd been going before. "Why am I going backwards?"

I looked over my shoulder when my feet met the ground a second later and spotted the guy that had been with the girl from the night before. His hand was gripping the back of my robe.

"Oh, it's you. Good morning! Come to thank me, eh? That's very nice of you. Where is your girlfriend, anyway?" I asked, looking around him, searching for the girl. I looked up at him when I couldn't find her, and that's when I realized he didn't look too happy. Okay, that was an understatement. I think he wanted to destroy my very soul. "She's not your girlfriend, then? Maybe your sister, or cousin? Some distant relative?"

The man's grip on my robe tightened.

"Why didn't it work?" he demanded.

"She's your aunt, isn't she? Your granddaughter? She looks a little--didn't work? What do you mean it didn't work?" I now feared for my life.

The man let go of me and told me to follow him as he started down the hall. I did as I was told, and we soon reached the girl's room. I went through the door and saw the girl unconscious on her bed with a phoenix down over her heart. It hadn't been absorbed, and that meant that…

"She's not completely dead yet," I said, starting to wonder who this girl was.

"What do you mean? I already told you they don't work on the dead--"

"I mean, she has another self in another world that is only a shell. Part of her soul is dying with that shell. We need to give her time. The phoenix down will absorb when she's ready."

"Are you sure this will work?"

I looked at the man and nodded. "I'm sure."

He and I waited at her bedside for hours. I pushed the fact that I was hungry out of my mind and instead took to looking at the girl. She looked so familiar to me, but I couldn't put my finger on who she was.

It seemed an eternity before the feather on her chest dissolved into her skin and she looked like she was about to open her eyes. My eyes lit, and I looked over at her companion, but his face was blank. You'd think he'd be a little more overjoyed at the fact that I just raised his girlfriend from the practically dead.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

X_X x_x X_X

_**Everything was black**_, pitch black and silent. I felt claustrophobic, my fear making my limbs rigid. I felt like I was being crushed in this darkness. I looked around, trying to find a way out of what felt like-or was-death.

I saw a green light coming toward me through the blackness and I saw the figure of a woman. An angel?

If that woman was an angle, then I was definitely going to die. "No!" I tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound. My body felt as if it were sliding through sludge as I took a step backward.

The woman reached out to me, her expression reassuring. Something in me told me to run to her, but I knew that I shouldn't. I shook my head, my movements quickening as the moments passed. I took a few more steps back. The woman's face saddened and her beckoning hand dropped and her eyes closed as she faded away. As she disappeared, the invisible sludge inhibiting my movements went away, and I tripped backward over my own feet. I felt like I was going to be falling forever—

And then someone caught me with one arm.

My eyes shot open. Once my vision stopped being so fuzzy I looked at Vincent.

"You…caught me…"

He stared at me with his usual blank expression.

"How are you feeling?" another voice asked.

I looked to Vincent's left. A man sat in the next chair over. His dark hair spiked out in random directions, looking almost messy enough to be bed head. His glasses were practically hanging from the tip of his nose, and he pushed them back up the bridge with one long, skinny finger.

"I feel fine, I guess. Just a little tired." I looked to Vincent, confused about this strange man. "Is he a doctor?"

"I might as well be. May I ask you a somewhat personal question, miss?"

My brow furrowed, and I looked to Vincent for some sort of an indicator that I should answer whatever question the man would ask. Of course, I received none. "What's that?"

"What did you see while you were unconscious?"

I looked at Vincent again before I answered. "I saw an angel…an angel in green light. I think I was dead."

The man burst into laughter.

I scowled and struggled not to blush. "You're the one who asked. I thought doctors were supposed to take their patients seriously."

He wiped away a few tears before he responded. "I'm sorry for laughing at you, but I didn't say I was a doctor, now did I?"

I folded my arms. I hated this guy already. "Why did you ask me anyway?"

The smile on the man's face disappeared, and he took on a more professional pose. "You're not from here, are you?"

I shifted nervously, unable to look the man in the eye. "No."

"That's why this is all happening to you." He paused to push his glasses against his face again. "When you came here, you left a shell behind. That shell took a tiny piece of your soul, but it wasn't enough to keep it alive for long. Your sudden sickness was caused by the death of this shell, which has eliminated all ties you had to wherever you came from."

"Y-you mean I can't go back?"

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"You're kidding me, right?

When his head shook again, I didn't know whether to be overjoyed or in distress. On one hand, I would never have to see my devil mother again. On the other hand, I'd never see Carol and Trisha again. Ever. How was I supposed to react? "…Wow…"

"'Wow'? You've just been sucked into another world and that's all you can say?" The man chuckled. "I can honestly say that wasn't nearly as extreme as my reaction was when I realized what had happened to me."

I gave him yet another confused look, but with a touch of surprise. "You…aren't from here, either?"

"Hardly. I've only been here for a few months." The man's face wore a sad and reminiscent half smile. "I left my family behind…"

I looked at my hands, suddenly guilty because I didn't miss my own family…if that's what you could call my mother.. "I'm sorry."

The man nodded, staring at the ground for a moment before looking back at me. "If I could find a way back, I'd…" His look turned to a stare. "What did you say your name was?"

"Rosalie Webber."

The man stood too quickly, knocking his chair over. He looked…scared.

I flinched as his chair hit the floor. "What's your problem?"

He stared at me for what seemed like a lifetime before he left the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

I shrank into my pillow, staring after the man. "All I did was tell him my name..."

Vincent rose from his chair, looking, as usual, unreadable. "Rest," he said, and then he left.

I growled in frustration. Why wouldn't anybody tell me anything? It was getting annoying. After a moment of thought, I decided that if I was going to figure anything out, I'd have to investigate this mystery myself. I slipped out from under the covers of my bed and set my feet on the floor. When I stood, though, my head spun and I found myself on the floor. Maybe Vincent had been on to something when he told me to rest. I crawled back into bed and curled into a ball, hoping I wouldn't puke. A torn soul was apparently a hard thing to recover from.

I woke up hours later, just before my door opened. I squinted in the light that came in from the hallway outside as Vincent entered my room. He glanced at me once before he went through the door to his own room, which was set into the wall across from where I was. When I was sure he wasn't coming back out I tried getting out of bed again. My head didn't spin this time. Steadying myself with a hand against the wall, I walked out of my room and onto the deck of the ship. I planned to enjoy the trip—for real this time.

Once glance told me that there was only one other person on deck. The "doctor" had his head in one hand and didn't seem to notice me, so I walked over and leaned against the ship beside him, hoping I could get him to answer the question on my mind.

"Hello." Wow. Was that really all I could come up with?

This seemed to break through his reverie. His head rose from his palm and he looked at me, flinching a little as his gaze met mine. I felt a little freaked out, and the feeling was only worsened when I realized that the grimace on his face was meant to be a smile. This was not going well.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to ignore his expression.

His fake smile disappeared within an instant. "No, no, no, no! Nothing's wrong! What could ever give you that idea?"

Was he being serious, or sarcastic? He sounded too nervous for me to tell.

I gave him an incredulous look. "Well for one, you went completely nuts after I told you my name, and now you're acting like an idiot."

"Oh… that… right." Why was this guy acting like he had been caught committing a crime?

"Yeah, that."

The man gulped as he stared at me. "I…" He stopped to take a deep breath. "I…am so sorry, Rosie."

Rosie? "Sorry for what?"

The man pulled a hand over his face and adjusted his glasses. "You really don't recognize me, do you?"

"I have no idea what you're…" I trailed off. The way his mouth was tensely set because of nerves, the vein that bulged slightly on his temple, the tired look in his eyes. They all looked so familiar. My eyes widened as it all became clear.

I gasped. "D-dad?" I suddenly felt out of breath.

The man nodded

"But… you're here? You've been here this whole time?" I covered my mouth with my hand, tears suddenly flooding my eyes. "You stopped talking to me and Mom. You never left the house, stopped going to work. You just walked around like you had lost your mind. You died. You just fell down dead in front of me. How could you be here? Why didn't you tell me anything? Why didn't you send me any email—or a letter, even? You wish you had never seen me here, don't you; that I was home with the woman you left behind! You came here to get away from us, didn't you!" Tears made my nose run and made my voice catch in my throat. "You left me." I leaned hard against the railing, looking down at the water.

I felt his arms wrap around me, and I buried my face in his chest, sobbing.

"I love you, Rosalie." Dad stroked my hair to comfort me.

I completely gave up on being angry. Dad was here. He was with me. "I love you, too, Dad."

Once I calmed down, Dad held me out at arm's length. "You look so grown up now. Beautiful, just like I knew you'd be."

I sniffed. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Rosie. And I will never, ever leave you again. That I promise you."

I stood there, letting Dad stroke my hair as I cried. Suddenly this world seemed like the best place to be. The slightest longing for my old world was banished, and I even smiled a little as I thought of my mother, forced to clean her own kitchen floor.

Authors' Comments

Yenny: Heh… heh… heh… We're still alive everybody! We promise!

Lacher: We are SO SORRY! We didn't mean to leave you hanging for this long.

Yenny: Yeah, it was completely unintentional.

Lacher: And now we're back online. Go us! We're going to strive to get this all done before

we have to leave for college.

Yenny: And if we don't… we'll still try to get it done. It'll be harder, but we'll get it done!

Lacher: But for now, bye bye everybody!

Yenny: See ya!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dad came to my room in the morning to see how I was doing. Being the protective father that he was, he wouldn t let me get out of bed in case I wasn t totally recovered.

You should have some breakfast. he said.

I shook my head. No, thanks. I m still feeling a little I waved my splayed fingers in the air next to my head.

Dad smiled a little. They have pancakes. He said pancakes in a sing-song voice that I couldn t help but laugh at.

Okay, Dad. Pancakes sound great."

At that moment the door in the wallacross from my bed opened and Vincent walked through the door.

Ah, good morning, Vincent Valentine. Dad stood and held out a hand for Vincent to shake. Vincent stared at the hand for a moment without shaking it. I realized why and nearly slapped myself in the forehead. I hadn't warned Dad that he couldn t be left handed when he greeted Vincent. Bad idea. Dad let his hand drop to his side, but his grin remained intact. Do you want anything to eat, Vinnie? I was just going to get some pancakes for Rosalie.

No, thank you. Vincent sat in a chair against the wall and stared at a point above my head. I resisted the urge to look at what had captured his attention.

If you re sure. Dad shrugged and left the room.

He s your father? Vincent asked.

I nodded. Yup.

And you're sure about that?"

I gave Vincent a confused look and shook my head slightly. "Of course I am."

"You don't think he could be working with Sephiroth? He could have-"

"No, Vincent. He's my father. Leave it alone."

Vincent made no reply, but turned his head to stare at the porthole in the wall. I folded my arms and stared at the door. A long silence ensued, unbroken until Dad came through the door with a heaping tray of food.

For you, he said, putting a plate of pancakes on my lap. I took a fork from him and started to eat, savoring each bite. Dad sat down in his chair with his plate, but he didn t pick up his fork. He tapped his fingers against the sides of his dish and stared at his food. Finally he spoke.

So are you two, he said. There was an awkward silence for a moment. ...Dating? He said the word slowly, as if it were foreign to him.

I would have answered, but I was too busy choking on my pancake. Vincent answered for me. "No."

We re just, cough, traveling together. I hoped they thought my face was red because I couldn't breathe.

Dad gave a sigh of relief. Oh, good. I thought I might have to give ol Vinnie here the stay away from my daughter speech. He laughed, then his face became serious as he turned to Vincent. But, seriously, stay away from my daughter.

Vincent s gaze remained plain as stone. Like always But he rolled his eyes, then stood and went to his room, closing the door behind him.

Dad stared after him. It was a joke, Vincent, I swear! He looked back at me with a small smile as if in hopes I would laugh at him, but I stared at my plate, not in a joking mood.

I screwed up big time, didn t I? he said.

I shook my head. No, Dad, you re fine. Just sit down. Vincent needs his space sometimes. All the time. He s a little more antisocial than you are. I managed a small smile at him, then picked at my food. Things are just hectic right now, so it s best not to say anything weird.

Dad nodded. Got it. He was quiet for a while. What have you been doing up till now?

You re not asking me for my life s story, are you?

He smiled. I haven t seen you in ten years, so that would be nice, but I was actually asking you about what s been happening to you since you came here.

I swallowed, wondering if I could remember it all. It s a long story.

We've got at least a week.

I set my food tray aside and sat up, leaning against my pillows. I got my thoughts in order, and then I began my story.

Dad interrupted me in the middle of my telling of my first encounter with Sephiroth. Wait a second. You said the Lifestream came and healed Cloud?

Uh, yeah. At least, that s what it looked like. I guess I couldn t know for sure. I mean, I ve never actually seen the Lifestream before, so it could have been something else.

And you said Sephiroth came after you?

Yeah. In fact, that s why Vincent and I are here right now. He told me we had to leave, and Sephiroth s been chasing us ever since.

Dad looked distressed. Oh no. Rosie, I m so sorry. This is all my fault.

I scoffed. Not really. So Sephiroth has bad taste in women. Since when is that your fault?

Rosalie, this is not funny. He s after you because you have the power of the Lifestream.

Hede-wah?

You have great power, Rosalie, and Sephiroth wants that power.

What do you mean, Dad? I don t have any powers at all.

Dad was beginning to look frustrated. Rosalie, you are the one who summoned the Lifestream. That s why you felt so tired when Cloud was healed. The power saps some of our strength in order to work.

What do you mean by our? I asked. What was going on?  
I have the power to control the Lifestream as well. It takes a while to control, but it is possible."  
I frowned. "Are we the only ones?"  
He nodded. "I believe so."  
"But why? Why us?"  
He shrugged. "Because whoever brought us here gave us these powers."  
"Someone...brought us here? Dad, this is just a game."  
"I had to learn to harness the power pretty much on my own, but I can teach you what I know. If you can harness this power, not only will you be able to save lives, but you will be able to resist Sephiroth." 


End file.
